THE Omicron wave led to 5% of teachers being absent at one point, MSPs have been told, with an education official saying this caused a knock-on effect on the quality of education.
Holyrood’s Education Committee heard that staff absences had a detrimental impact on what teachers could offer.
Douglas Hutchison, president of the Association of Directors of Education (ADES), said the issue had affected both teachers and wider education staff.
Hutchison, who is also executive director of education at Glasgow City Council, said absences had been discussed at an ADES meeting recently.
He said: “There has been an increase.
“The general view was that schools were coping, but that was down to the good efforts of staff on the ground.”
READ MORE: Ventilation measures in schools to reduce Covid spread are 'adequate'
He said the absences detracted from what teachers could offer, saying: “The quality of learning and teaching is impacted, regardless of the total number of staff absent, because it has a knock-on effect across the school.”
Hutchison said he believed around 5% of staff were absent at one point purely for coronavirus reasons.
He continued: “The whole system is then under pressure, every teacher is under pressure, because there’s additional work to keep the whole thing going.
“And to their huge credit, they have done it.”
Margaret Wilson, chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, also spoke to the committee.
She said parents of children in all age groups had expressed concern, saying: “There’s been a huge number of young people that have had learning and teaching disrupted.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here